Before gathering some knowledge about DNSSEC let’s know what is DNS.
DNS (Domain Name System)
DNS works like your Identity card. Simple it gives a name to an IP address. As you can easily memorize a name then memorize an IP address. You can also compare it with your Phone book addresses. DNS is used to translate domain names into numeric Internet addresses.
So we can say that DNS is converting a domain name to an IP address and vice versa. DNS Isn’t Designed for Security. Due to This, DNSSEC Was Developed to Preventing Online Attacks.
What is DNSSEC
DNSSEC full meaning is Domain name system security extensions (DNSSEC). It’s a protocol that adds a security layer to the Domain name system (DNS) lookup and access process. It is used to secure users’ essential information provided by the Domain Name Server which is used on internet protocol. In one word, It’s a layer in DNS that helps to exchange users’ DNS data in Cryptographic Authentication by use of a Digital Signature. It helps to protect DNS (Domain Name System) information.
How DNSSEC Works
DNS Security Extensions encrypt the connection between the user’s computer and the DNS server. DNSSEC is working to secure DNS (Domain Name system). It means DNSSEC adds a security layer to DNS by making sure the user is accessing the exact website that he/she wants to access and not redirect or access to some other’s fake website. It helps to secure and protect valuable information from being hacked by hackers. If you are running a website that needs to add private information like credit card passwords or other important passwords and you are using the website for payment. Then You must need to activate DNSSEC for the domain so that your visitors can view your website in a secure manner without any risk of getting their personal information stolen or having their requests for resources redirected to somewhere else.
There are two types of keys in DNSSEC
-ZSK (Zone Signing Key)
-KSK (Key Signing Key)
How to check is DNSSEC active properly in your domain
Here is a website called dnssec-analyzer.verisignlabs.com – https://dnssec-analyzer.verisignlabs.com/
Just simply enter your domain name to check if DNSSEC is active properly for your domain or not. If your domain is properly active DNSSEC then there will be no error in the analyzer. See the below picture-
If DNSSEC is not properly activated for your domain then the analyzer will show you the error. See the below picture-
Advantages of Using DNSSEC
- It increases complexity on both the user and server side.
- Protect against Man-In-The-Middle attacks.
- Protect against DNS spoofing.
- Protect against cache poisoning.
- Increases trust for users to browse websites, such as e-commerce, and VoIP.
Disadvantage of Using DNSSEC
- Sometimes websites become inaccessible cause of not enabling DNSSEC Properly.
- DNS zone can be broken and cause a huge problem in DNS Zone. It happens when you misconfigure the key to the zone or delete a provided key from the zone or add it without enabling/disabling DNSSEC from the domain control area.
- Limited support from TLD and DNS servers.
Conclusion
There are a number of benefits to active DNSSEC in your domain in these modern days. It helps to protect any user’s information and ability to publish verified information on the internet, provides security, and allows for easier internet browsing without feeling any risk. For these reasons, DNSSEC is a must-have for modern-day websites. But remember it only protect DNS not the whole server nor from DDoS attack.
